Helquist is literally too smart to teach effectively. Lectures are useless but required to get participation. Very unapproachable, when you actually do ask for help she usually responds with look it up or ask a neighbor. Passable if you have a TON of time to devote to working through examples because she never finishes one. Do online practice work.

I knew chemistry was going to be tough, but I was by no means prepared for the insanity of this class. Exams are very difficult and some students do not finish them (10 pt deduction if you miss the time limit). There are not clear expectations on what will be covered on the exams and lectures do not cover what will be on the exams. DO NOT TAKE!

Chem is not an easy class to begin with but Helquist didn't make it any better. The lectures are pointless because she expects you to learn everything from the online hw w/ Prof. ALEKS which is due 3 times a week and theres quizzes every discussion but she wont tell you the topics it covers so unless you're a chem genius find a different professor

Save yourself before it's too late. Barely left alive after that class was done. Doesn't teach at all during class, talking to her out of class doesn't help you at all. Chemistry is a hard subject but she makes it impossible. DO NOT TAKE. Quizzes every discussion, and group quizzes that can either help/ hurt depending on who you're with.

hard pass one this professor! she knows chemistry but overall is just not a very pleasant person to be around. The practice exams given are a waste of time. ALEKS and mastering chem are the only things that will get you through this course. For test prep, practice the group quiz problems to get a feel for the short answer questions!

Horrible professor. Does not prepare you for the exams at all. She will not give you practice questions that actually help. The ALEKS homework that is required does not help even a little. There is quizzes every week on random material that will not help you on the exam. This is by far the worst professor I have ever taken. I am dropping her class.

Absolutely the worst professor I have ever taken. To better sum it up, I had a nightmare that she was lecturing in a purple disney villain outfit about the laws of satanism and pulled out a ball of fire. Her quizzes are next to impossible, our test avg was a 55%. She replies to your questions w/another more confusing one. DO NOT TAKE.

Dr. Helquist created a horrible first semester of college for me. Yes, chemistry can be a hard subject, but she made chemistry every student's life outside of class. You are supposed to do readings before lectures and on days you don't have lecture you have homework due every single day. She had people in tears leaving her office hours.

Do NOT take if you can avoid it. By far the worst chemistry teacher I have ever had. She is vague when explaining, making it difficult to understand concepts. She teaches easy problems in class, and then does not review the difficult material that will be on test, just expects you to know it; Does not prepare students well. Long time-limited tests

She expects you to read the entire chapter before class and before she starts lecturing on the given topic. She also expects you to understand what you learned from the chapter because in class she starts throwing out far-fetched concepts that you won't be able to understand unless you already mastered chemistry.

DO NOT TAKE HER!!!!! unclear lectures, terribly hard quizzes and exams. terrible overall.

Lectures were very unorganized and often hard to follow. She would start problems and not show us how to finish them or even give us the answer. Tests and quizzes were EXTREMELY difficult and you are often not given enough time to actually finish said tests and quizzes. Very hostile and condescending when asked questions by students. DO NOT TAKE!!

There is no time to finish tests, so people do badly even when they know the material. The test average is in the 50s, but she doesn't curve. People study hours every day just for chem and still do not get the grade they want. Dr. Helquist is rude when you ask for help, and her lectures waste a lot of time. Overall, her class is pointlessly hard.

I took Organic Chemistry II with Helquist 4 years ago. I have now completed a master's degree and was just thinking about the teachers I have had that absolutely should not be teaching because they lack empathy and do not have students' best interest at heart. Communicates like a buzzsaw. Pedantic to the max. Learning becomes an anxious chore.

Absolutely terrible! Unclear lectures, exam material hard to even decipher. Would not recommend.

She's by far the worst professor I've ever had. Her lecturing style for general chem is incoherent, making class even more impossible. She's obnoxiously condescending, doesn't help her students, and has excruciatingly difficult exams; exams are worth the majority of your grade. You'll be teaching yourself everything. Her class will trash your GPA.

Rude, presumptuous, and truly doesn't understand that some students have a hard time with her subject.

Tests are hard

She's a nice person, but the worst professor I've ever had. I saw some comments saying that she's the push some people need to really dive in to Chem, but from my experience it doesn't matter how many hours you put into studying, how many times you meet up with her, or how many all-nighters you pull--you could very likely still get an F.

Let's be honest, chemistry is not an easy subject, but this professor made it much harder. Her lectures do not correlate to the homework and the exams are really hard. I have nothing against her as a person and she is actually really smart, however she's just not cut out to teach.

worst professor ever, she's currently on probation for failing so many students. is not helpful at all and doesn't care about students. never been in a harder class

Helquist is not a good teacher. I struggled to understand most of her lectures and 1 on 1 she isn't much better. This class was the hardest I've taken in college and I believe the professor had a lot to do with that.

She rambles on and on about one thing for the entire class period, she never just gets to the point. Most of the class consists of us talking to each other because she mumbles a question and then asks us to discuss. Her tests arent based on the things are taught in class and gives out quizzes during discussion.

I never do these reviews but for helquist, its time to break that streak. Her lectures are useless, her officer hours meh, and her tests needlessly hard. If you have a question, your gonna have to ask the kid next to you who is just as confused as you are before she answers it with another question. THERE IS NO FINAL GRADE CURVE. DO NOT TAKE

Helquist is a nice person but she is not a good teacher whatsoever. When asked to explain she underexplains as an attempt to make it easier. Lectures are everywhere, hard to understand, and she mumbles a lot. Tests are nothing like what you learn in class. Expects you to have an unrealistic exceptional background in chemistry. Avoid at all costs.

Absolutely the worst teacher I've ever had

As a person, she is fine. The problem is that she approaches that lectures as a chemist rather than as a professor. She kind of expects you to know everything. Yes, she assigns readings from the book but she never goes over it. She goes on tangents about other stuff that is hard to connect with the readings. Try to get a different if you can.

Sandra is the absolute worst professor you can take for chem. Her tests are extremely difficult and she intentionally tries to trick you. They are very detailed and try to incorporate organic chem and higher level classes into 101. Her lectures are all over the place and do not help with the exams at all. Avoid her at all costs she ruined my GPA!!

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!! TRUST ME WORST DECISION OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!! I DROPPED HER CLASS CAUSE SHE WAS SO UNORGANIZED WITH HER TEACHING. ONE DAY SHE WAS TEACHING US ABOUT THE SIZE OF A NUCLEUS USING A BALLOON FOR AN ENTIRE CLASS PERIOD< END RESULT NOTHING

Her lectures aren't bad but whatever she teaches or whatever is on the homework is nothing like the quizzes or exams. Exams are extremely hard and not enough time to even complete them. She's very approachable but sometimes her help isn't enough. She believes that chemistry should be put above everything and was not flexible when we switched online

Basically everyone hates her! I do as well. She made this course even harder than it had to be and I usually like science courses. She makes me hate it all because she doesnt know how to teach. Overall I really studied and felt like I understood but she made me feel like I knew nothing. I would avoid her if possible and I wont be taking her again

AVOID! She's nice, but her exams are impossible, nothing like the homework. She SET'S YOU UP FOR FAILURE! You might feel you know the material after hours of practice, but NO. Only 3 discussion worksheets, 2 exams, and a final. NO extra credit, no points for hw. WE'RE NOT Ph.D. STUDENTS, prof Helquist! Calm down! She ruined prof May's summer class.

I have never took a harder course in my life. Tests are extremely hard with very little time. She is a nice person, but she is a super tough grader. No flexibility in deadlines. he just make Chem 101 which is an intro course feel like a Phd level course. Also, during Mastery objectives you either get everything right1/1, or else you will get a 0/1.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Dr. Helquist's class is designed to tank your GPA. Her teaching philosophy is counter-intuitive. Lectures are understandable -- yet do not prepare students for any type of assessment in the slightest. It is totally up to you to figure everything out. Previous AP Chem students are the only ones that kinda know what is going on...

Do not take Helquist's CHEM101. The grading system is set up for you to fail, and you also aren't allowed to see your grade until the end of the semester. If you have an A in all sections (exam, group quiz, individual quiz, homework) but have a C in one of the sections, your grade is a C.

Her grading scale is designed to hurt your GPA. Tests are only out of 13-14 points, written portions are out of 1 point. It is very difficult to do well in this class due to the grading scale. She can also be very passive aggressive.

You will automatically get you 1-2 grade letters lower just from how her grade system works. If you have 4 A's and a D out of the 5 areas she grades you get a D because you havent "reached the minimum requirements for that row" (it's not averaged like every other class ever). Her difficulty is high not because of the content, it's her grade system.

She grades u in 5 areas and u basically get the grade of the lowest area which will be lower than you're probably used to. Only a handful of kids get Bs, even less get As. Her Mastery Objective section (FRQ) u need to get 90-100% right every time to get 1 credit for that section. 95% of her kids get lower than a B- or withdraw for someone else.

Never take Dr. Helquist. Given the current scenario, being online made it much more difficult. She made her own grading scale that is set up for students to fail though she'll say she does everything to get you to ace her class. She also expects you to learn the entire subject on your own and cannot teach whatsoever.

Her grading scale is awful, and it is clear that she cares more about her class being extremely difficult rather than helping her students.

She the worst chem 101 prof you can ever take. Her grading system is the worst, meaning id you have all A's in 4/5 categories and a C in the last one then your final grade is a C. I reported her to the head chairperson and they were no help at all, they just took her side like with. If you're going into the medical field then don't take her

Her grading system is extremely unfair and unrealistic. Whatever your lowest category of the grading components is becomes your final grade for the course, they don't average. She is also very bad at lecturing. OVERALL DON'T TAKE HER!!

Dr. Helquist has EXTREMELY unrealistic expectations for her students. Your entire grade is dependant upon your lowest scoring section of the class. For example, you can have an A in the homework and group quiz section but if have a C on the MOs or multiple choice exams you will end up with a C overall. please, do not take her unless you have to. :(

She cares more about failing her students, than whether we learn anything or not.

Disingenuous about her grading system and tells students "it allows you to pursue the level of success you want". In reality, it is designed to fail you. You are graded on your worst category, so homework (USELESS for exam prep) is essentially wasted effort if you don't excel at exams. Unreasonable and doesn't understand that students struggle.

She is friendly. That's why she got a 2. If you want to keep a good gpa don't take her. Be prepared to put more work into her class than the rest of your classes combined. Her grading system is your lowest category grade is your grade. That means you could have an A in exams and Homework, but a B- in groupwork would give you a B-.

Her grading of not giving a letter grade on tests prevents you from really understanding what your grade is. No partial credit on tests.

Her class isn't even that bad, but something about her as a person is just off. She acts as she cares about our success and student flexibility when in reality it's all just a scam.

At first glance, she seems like an ordinary Chemistry Teacher, which is someone who is not the best at lecturing. She kind of has a good personality as well. However, the grading scale is probably the worst thing Ive ever seen in College and High School. She grades your tests, quizzes, homework, etc. but your final grade is the worst one! Unfair!

Took up way too much of my time without the grade to show for it. She gives half credit if you revise questions you got wrong on previous tests, but despite doing them correctly, I still didn't get credit for them even though they were mostly correct. Other students also had issues with her not giving credit for questions just due to a small typo.

Seriously Loyola can do better than this professor. This is a class critical for pre meds and the professor doe snot know how to teach. They say grades aren't important the learning is but seriously it matters if your pre - med. Just ridiculous. Everything about this professor and class SHOULD be better!!!

Have never understood where a single good comment about this professor has come from. She is extremely rude and disrespectful, especially if you struggle with the material. She does not care about you or your grade. NO PARTIAL CREDIT, nearly impossible to pass. Orgo is tough, but her expectations are unrealistic and absurd. AVOID!!!

LUC Alum. I took Helquist for 101, got a B, and am currently in a top med school. This was my lowest grade of all undergrad. She made this THE hardest class I've taken for no reason. Just know that it gets better and that this class does not dictate your trajectory. Work hard and take care of yourself. Roll 'Blers.

Dr. Helquist ruined chemistry for me. She is intentionally a fast lecturer because she thrives off of seeing her students struggle. There is no easy way to pass this class unless you have taken AP Chem and are prepared to reteach yourself everything. My best advice surrounding this class is that biochem and chem majors CAN take CHEM 101 and 102.

She doesn't teach you are on your own to learn the material, she uses these online POGILS to "teach" and honestly it is just confusing and frustrating. Her grading system is THE WORST. Your grade isn't averaged which makes you receive the lowest grade you have and that part is annoying. I don't recommend taking her, it won't be worth it

I didn't listen to this because I had no other option but to take the class at this time. I SEVERELY regret not just asking my job to change my shift. LOOK: THESE AREN'T EXAGGERATIONS. this professor is AWFUL. i can't go into a lot of detail but her lack of flexibility for her students (esp those with heavy workloads) should say a lot.

One of the worst professors Ive had. Really wish I wouldve picked a different Professor that actually does their job and wants you to succeed. She has a very unclear/confusing grading system that doesnt make sense.

WORST professor i have ever encountered. There's clearly an issue if so many people hate the class.

I have never cried so much over a class in my whole life. Chem 101 should not be this hard, and to be honest the content is not what makes it awful, its her literal impossible grading scale. Do not take this class. If it is your last option no it's not there has to be another way.

Her rating should be a 0.

She is rude and the absolute worst. An MO is basically a short answer problem on the exam with 4 parts that she grades out of 1 point. If you get it 100% right then you master it, if you get some parts right then you get a 0. When you ask her questions she says yes or no but does not tell you where you messed up on. Definitely avoid her class.

it is so bad I want to give you a zero, but thats not possible so I give you a one.

Horrible. Grading scale is absolutely unacceptable for a 106 class, VERY VERY bad professor and terrible class. If you have ANY say whatsoever, take CHEM 101-102 instead this is not worth the hundreds of hours a semester just to have none of it count at all. Horrendous, absolutely cannot say enough how awful this is

This woman is INSANE. We have 2 exams and a quiz this week on top of that, she assigned 2 Aleks topics which take me about 1-2 hours EACH. She relies on Aleks (a homework platform) to teach the class and doesn't really reinforce the material well. She's an incredibly tough grader and her grading system makes NO SENSE. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Very rude to her students especially when they come to office hours. Wouldn't waste my time even taking her class again. Because of her terrible teaching I have to retake this class in the Summer. Have gone to her for help and exceptionally rude when she encourages us to come in, but then yells at us if we don't understand something. Love it

This woman does NOT understand she is teaching an entry level class. She functions as if students are there to truly learn the chemistry, but most are there for the gen-ed credit and she makes it nigh inconceivable to get there. Her grading system is tiered to the extreme, so be ready to put an excessive amount of work into everything you do.

She created her own stupid grading scale the makes no sense. So it's very difficult to get a high grade because of it. Doesn't know how to teach, taught myself everything through youtube. Nothing she teaches is related to what is on the test. If you end up getting stuck with her, prioritize this class when it comes to studying.

She seems like a sweet person in real life and was very helpful during office hours. However, she teaches an introductory chem class as if you've been learning chem your whole life. Your grade is based on your lowest category. You can get all 100's on the MO's, tests, etc., but if you get a 70 on the homework, you are ONLY graded on the homework.

Worst professor ever!!! DO NOT TAKE!!!!! Very test heavy and none of her grading makes any sense!!! Trust me you will be up all night every night doing homework for just her class!!!!

She is probably the worst organic chemistry professor teacher at Loyola. Literally, choose ANYONE but her if you want to pass. She is an EXTREMELY tough grader and with one small mistake, you won't get the point on exams. Her exams are designed to be in an all-or-nothing format with no partial credit. She barely even teaches during lectures.

Wants you to fail. Will not help you achieve where you want to be and belittles you with little to no explanation as to what you did wrong in the first place.

She is an awful professor and she is very rude. Do not take her it will be the worst decision you will ever make!!!!

Helquist is the single worst professor that I have EVER had. She doesn't teach during lecture. When asking for help she doesn't give it. Her "lectures" do not line up with the homework or the tests. It is impossible to teach yourself the material if it isn't clear what you're supposed to be learning. If you have a choice DO NOT take her class.

she is the worst and makes me start to hate chemistry now. the grading scale is unfair and if you get off at the wrong start there is no way to get back honestly. my goal is to just pass the class. AVOID HER.

Where do I even begin. If you see this woman RUN!!!! Sadly she is the only option for this course and she is the worst. She is horrible at lecturing, and rude asf. I would ask her questions in class and she would call them stupid and unreasonable. She is a super hard grader and she wants you to drop the class.

Dr. Helquist I do not believe should be allowed to teach tier 1 courses. This professor has a deep understanding of chemistry, so would be great for a 300 level course where the students already have the background of chemistry. She assigns 4 hours of work per hour in class a week, so the only way to succeed is so solely focus on chemistry.

Just does not know how to teach. She seems to know what she's talking about but she created her own grading scale which is entirely redundant and makes everything more complicated. She assigned homework Saturday night, Wednesday night, and Monday night which are all due and for credit which is an illogical system. Very rude and doesn't teach.

She is honestly the worst professor I've ever had. She is very unclear on what the class is all about and you will end up teaching yourself everything. The grading is so confusing and you will never have a good idea of how you are actually doing in the class. She seems very unapproachable and doesn't seem like she wants the students to succeed.

The only reason I passed is bc I was always in office hours+she took mercy. I was trying my hardest and doing everything I could. Still did poorly. Was sick (covid, bad), out for 1.5 weeks and missed 5 homework assignments. She was absolutely inflexible, offered me no support. Failed the next exam bc I couldn't catch up w material and work. no help

The MO's are literally the only things that determine the grade. The lab grade does not even matter because it didn't even affect the overall grade at all. The way the MO's are setup are confusing and they even lied about how to MO's work in the beginning. Definitely do not teach either, must learn from outside or SI sessions.

This woman is a nightmare, avoid at all costs.

Professor Helquist is not fit to teach. She barely teaches and she is rude to her students. I had to rely on Aleks to teach me. She assigns hours of work a week and most of the homework is due Saturday night. She is a very harsh grader and her grading system is very messed up. Almost every student I know has a lot of trouble in this class.

She does not know how to teach and her grading scale is difficult. She does not give partial credit on exams and assigns so much homework. Do not recommend at all, everyone I know hates her and a few people switched their majors because of this class.

The 3.8 is very misleading. She is the worst prof I have had. She is not helpful when you go to her with questions, she is a super strict grader, and she barely teaches you. I have had to teach myself basically everything in chem. Steer clear of her if you can. So many people have dropped this class, and the people that are still in it hate it.

I changed my major because of her. Even though I got near perfect scores on MC exams, It didn't matter because she takes the LOWEST percentage as your grade out of multiple criteria such as tests, MO's, homework and attendance. MO's are the reason most of the class is failing. You get 1 point if you get 100% and 0 if you get anything lower.

As an introduction to the Loyola university, I now want to transfer universities. Some other reviews say how you just need to be open-minded to her grading system, but the issue with that is there is no need for her weird grading system in the first place. Overall inherently set up to fail more people. Clearly doesn't care for students. Transfer.

I've never hated a class more, it made me hate science. There is no winning. The grading system is confusing. She's very rude when you have questions she thinks are dumb. Assumes everyone knows way more than they do. Unhelpful lectures. Class is structured for groups to solve a problem on their own, but she never goes over the answer??

Do not be fooled by her high rating, she is the worst professor at Loyola. Take anyone else if you can, you will regret being in her class. She has unreasonable standards and her grading scale is so messed up that it's basically impossible to get an A and extremely hard to even get a B-. AVOID HER!!!

DO NOT TAKE HER!! your lowest grade will become your grade for the class. Even if you get everything perfect, if you mess up on one thing you are completely screwed over by her grading system. everyone I know has said that she is the worst professor they've ever had.

the worst professor at Loyola, I don't know why she is so high up in the chem department. she cannot teach

she does not know how to teach and then makes her tests super hard. also does not give partial credit so be prepared to get every single thing right in order to pass her class. most people I know got in the C range and some people dropped this class entirely because of her.

Terrible. Made the final exam common for all orgo students which is very unfair. Every professor teaches differently and have different types of exam questions that they emphasize in their lectures. Most people I know did awful on the final because she wrote it. Final exam was extremely difficult too.

do not take this professor, you will regret it. She does not know how to teach and makes her own grading system so different from other professors. No partial credit on any exams.

So awful, choose any other professor. The 4 is very misleading she is very difficult and barely teaches you but expects you to know so much. She does not give partial credit, even if you get the majority of a problem right she will not give you credit for it.

Required absolute perfection, no partial credit, treats you like you are dumb if you ask questions. Cold-hearted and doesn't actually care about her students.

The only reason I got an F in this class is because all she did was talk about how she's a proud lesbian and that being lesbian matters more than learning chemistry in class. I would not take here what so ever and pray that the lord banishes this woman to some other multiverse.

Look, all I'm going to say, is our lovely lake view becomes a bit of a temptation for a winter swim after one takes this course. The 4.0 is misleading. Information about how to solve the problems is oft withheld rather than delivered to students. Even if you repeatedly ask for help, a straight answer is unlikely.

Do not take this teacher. Despite what the 4/5 rating says, she is not a good teacher. She doesn't teach (you're better off learning from the book). She has the most confusing grading scale ever, especially for tests and there's no partial credit (can't even make tiny errors). Avoid taking her if possible (for both General and Organic Chemistry).

You're better off learning from Youtube rather than relying on her to teach in class.

Unless you want to fail chemistry don't take Helquist. She does not teach the material and basically expects you to learn it before you come to class. If you ask her a question she will come off as very rude. Your grade will be your lowest category,

Do not take Helquist because during class she does not teach at all. When you show up to lecture, she expects you know everything before hand and as soon as she passes out the packets she expects you to start working without explaining how to do it. Also your lowest category score determines your grade and it not averaged at all.

Just won't teach. If you're an amazing self-studier, you'll be fine. The e-textbook given is ok, but nothing astounding. She does have office hours and I hear they are helpful. If you're major is anything chemistry, you won't have much of a choice in taking her. So either take her, or drop. I'm transferring because of her.

so awful and does not know how to teach at all. stay clear away from her!!

NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SHE IS STILL ALLOWED TO TEACH. Dr. Helquist is a sweet woman and extremely smart but she is not a good teacher at all. Expect to teach yourself everything. Her office hours are not exactly helpful.

Does not lecture and exams are graded very unfairly.

Professor Helquist makes me hate chemistry. The grading system makes it nearly impossible to succeed, and she doesn't teach AT ALL. She's also rude and fails to answer questions, so expect to feel stupid even though you were never taught the information. Avoid this woman at all costs. Listen to the other bad reviews, and DO NOT TAKE HER.

On top of an impossible and abstract grading scale, she just does not teach. Avoid taking her!!

Do not take this Professor, her grading is extremely difficult and uses questions which were not covered in class. More than half the class fails every semester and many of the students took AP Chemistry in high school. Take another professor.

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP YOUR MENTAL SANITY. She expects you to be perfect at everything. Each question is based on 2-5 parts, and if you get one part wrong you get the entire problem wrong. she is the reason many change their majors. She will fail you without a care in the world.

She treats a 100 level class as a 300 level class. Do not take her.

Dr. Helquist is very smart in her field, however that does not translate into the classroom. She's quite condescending, difficult to follow in her lectures because her pace is very fast, does not review much material after covering it once, and her grading system is ridiculous. Good luck trying to pass

People that say "This class is easy if you try," they cappin'!! If you're used to doing very well in classes get ready for that to change, unless you already know a lot of chem or are ready to spend all day reading/watching videos you wont pass. She isnt a teacher you will teach yourself in this course through the online homework and videos.

If you have no chem knowledge this class will be pretty tough. Weird and difficult testing system and she can come off a bit rude if you ask a question. I don't even really know my grade because we weren't given a midterm grade... She's obviously very passionate about chem, but the only reason I'm passing is because I took AP in high school.

Shue is often condescending, disrespectful, and rude when students attempt to seek help. Her style of criticism would be okay if she was as quick to teach as she is to condemn and make students feel inadequate. People don't ask questions for fear of surface-level explanation or humiliation. She makes her expectations and grading a guessing game.

Chem180 is very participation-based. When students were confused about topics, and we didn't know where to start on participating. Instead of breaking the topic down, actually teaching, and making sure we understood... Helquist put Xs on the board, did not go over the topic, moved on, and never revisited to teach or correct our misunderstandings.

she is the reason i had to withdraw from the university as she brought my confidence down to a minimum within any classroom whether it was for chemistry or not. if you are a forensic science major or chem or biochem, beware and be ready. i would have had to completely change my major if i stayed here. NOOOO

The worst class I have ever taken in my life, hands down. Her grading system is not real, she does not actually teach, and I genuinely do not know how I passed this class. Take literally anyone else but her. There is a reason why everyone fails this class and leaves the department scrambling to come up with ways to pass students.

Genuinely one of the worst professors I've ever had, and the co/fo grading system is atrocious.

All I can say is, avoid taking her if you can. She expects you to already know the material before coming into class, her lectures are very unclear, and she does not care about her students at all. Going to office hours can be helpful but be prepared for vague answers to your questions. Wish I could say more than 350 characters in this review.

she should not be teaching. She is condesending and lowkey needs a reality check. She doesn't even know how to do chem herself - find someone else if you dont wanna fail. Ive previously taken AP chemistry and I could not figure out anything she was saying - overall 0/10 do not take her.

I hope that she understands she is not only making people hate chemistry but is also wasting people's money because of vindicative reasons. She is not only destroying the integrity of science as a whole but has also disrespected everyone at our institution by making this class inaccessible to anyone who doesn't have a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.

I haven't had this professor, but I know she is the reason that the chemistry department at this school is atrocious. We are not being taught any chemistry. we get no background and you have to figure out everything by yourself. Although all the professors have to follow the fo/co system, take anyone else. This woman does not deserve her degree

Students are no longer able to learn or enjoy chemistry and are expected to be robots and write their answers in a box with 100% correct answers. I do not believe that given the format or questions given to students that the professors themselves would pass this class. I will never understand this attempt to fix something that was never broken.

The Fo and Co grading system is a joke. 100% mastery or you are given a 0. In the old system a 80-90% on an exam or quiz could very well give you 0's on all Fo's and Co's. The very possibility of this even happening to a student is a disgusting disrespect to a students effort and time, this system promotes giving up not growth.

This woman is the rudest professor I have ever witnessed. Tells students to "look online" or "you're not ready for that problem so don't even attempt it" rather than answering questions. Worst grading system ever. Answer keys are wrong and almost always corrected by students. Looks like flushed away character tbh. I got an A and still complaining.

If you want to even barely PASS this class you have be willing to teach yourself all the material and spend hours reviewing, so basically going to lecture to actually learn is useless. She's clearly very smart but sucks at teaching, just expects you know how to do the practice problems without any help and the new CO/FO system is god awful

Professor Helquist has developed a horrible program for GenChem. It does not value students' learning in any way, shape, or form. Students are taking this class to become better at chem, not to be told that they're not good enough and offered no help. It's incredibly infuriating that Helquist would put students in this position.

She created the worst system for teaching chemistry that has ever existed. It's virtually impossible to pass this class unless you put aside every other class and responsibility you have and focus only on studying. It has genuinely made my life so much worse, and I don't feel like I've learned anything. Someone needs to stop her!!!

i would rather give myself a lobotomy than take this teacher again. shes so mean to everybody, will not help you, and is condesceding. office hours and SI sessions did not help at all. she was put on academic probation for trying to fail an entire lecture class. hope that says enough because i do not have enough words to describe the horrors.

She genuinely does not teach or lecture in her classes. she just hands us worksheets and tells us to work in groups and thats literally all we did all class. if we get a problem wrong she doesn't give us the right answer or help us, she just says its wrong & moves on. she doesn't post answers to worksheets either. DO NOT TAKE HER.

Ive had many terrible professors but this one is in the top 3. She is so weird and is so unhelpful. She is the only professor that gives out tests... and you literally have to do everything PERFECT to receive a pass on the objectives. I low-key hope she reads these reviews so she can reflect on herself and better herself for other students.

Really hard to do well in this class. Basically had to teach myself most of the content and it's so fast paced it's easy to get lost. CO system feels impossible and it honestly feels like no matter how much you study you can't get it. Also she never posts answers to packets so you can't really check work unless you go to office hours.

You are only rewarded on total mastery, so what ends up happening is a small handful of students that manage to get A's, while the vast majority is struggling to pass cuz they missed one part of a six part problem. Its legit disrespectful of the time you put in trying to learn cuz to her you only deserve to succeed if you get a 100.

extremely difficult to get a good grade in (even if you understand the content), she doesn't actually teach anything, just hands out packets and expects you to understand the work, FO/CO system is ridiculous and only allows room for perfect scores, no lecture or slides so if you miss a day good luck trying to catch up, avoid taking her if possible

The FO/CO system is a total joke, especially considering she doesn't teach anything during class and is extremely condescending when you try to contact her. There's no partial credit and NO FEEDBACK which is so frustrating and unmotivating. 25% of students from my section have failed the class, and I have no idea why Loyola isn't doing anything.

if you have to take chemistry just CHANGE your major, its NOT worth it. i've never dedicated this much time to a class, and even like that you won't pass with a good grade. FO/CO system is impossible. i'd rather get my face degloved than take this ever again

since its your second semester of chem, I'm sure you've already heard about her, don't take this class. if you need to because none are open wait another semester, you will either mess up your mental health, gpa, or both, does not teach. you will find yourself scraping by or failing unless ur willing to completely give up your social life. goodluck

she is so incredibly demeaning and only chooses a select few to like. barely helps at all whatsoever even when you go to ask questions. if u have even the slightest bit of anxiety, do NOT take her.

Worst professor I've ever had, did not learn a single thing it's a miracle I somehow passed. There's no point in going to lecture since she doesn't even teach, hands out packets and then just has the students go up to the board and solve it ourselves without actually going over anything. Do not take her if you actually want to learn.

She doesn't teach, relies on students having read the textbook alone which is fine and good, except that it's organic chem and she needs to teach. Crazy concept. Wastes time in class saying it's okay to do poorly on the exams, but spends about 20 minutes doing that instead of actually helping us do well. Also very condescending

The pass rate for this class last semester was 40%. For general chemistry 1. If you think that is normal, you are INSANE. I might have to change my major because of this class. She is so bad they gave her an assistant teacher because she failed so many people. I don't know how they keep the FO and CO system, and I don't know how they keep her.

Take literally anyone else except her. I had her last semester and the other 2 chem profs I've had were miles better than her, even if the entire system is rlly scuffed. She does not lecture. If you haven't learned how to self study I don't even recommend using her to learn how. It's kinda funny how she seemed to get worse though.

Hate this class, might change my major, rethinking my whole life.

Save yourself and DO NOT TAKE. One time she purposefully ignored me in office hours after I wired to talk to her for 30mins. The level of disrespect towards her students will cause you so much pain and suffering. Does not teach and expects you to know everything before class. The worst professor I have ever taken by far. SAVE YOURSELF

ABSOLUTELY F ING AWFUL. came back a year later just to write this review because of how infuriating she made chemistry. Condescending, mean, and not helpful. only people who liked her were doing well (which was no one). avoid like the plague

Terrible professor. Lectures are awful, grading is unfair—points deducted for irrelevant details, and zeros for minor errors. No extra credit, not understanding, and very condescending. Going to office hours is essential to pass. Avoid if possible. I do not understand how Loyola keeps her teaching. She is on academic probation...

does not lecture, does not teach, does not care about students. I still have nightmares from this class. run.

Quite literally the WORST chem professor at this school. She has not lectured us 1 time... you have to teach yourself and then somehow come to class prepared. And every class is more like discussion, we just sit there and do practice problems on our own. She is rude and very unhelpful. She actually scares me like her demeanor is just off.

Best of luck..... at this point we should get a refund for the class, or Helquist should be paying us since she didn't teach a single thing all semester and we acted as our own teachers. Actually so horrible.

Helquist is quite literally the worst professor. She does not teach AT ALL. I can't wrap my head around that fact that she is still a professor at Loyola. She has no sympathy for her students and structures class so that half of the class fails. Helquist should be fired and taken to prison for crimes against STEM majors.

I have never despised a professor nor their class more in my life, she does not do her job as a professor and just expects you to have the same knowledge as her. Her system is absolute garbage and designed to fail a majority of students, I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy and honestly you're better off just switching to a non STEM major.

i'm gonna keep this short. she is by far the worst professor ive ever witnessed.

She did not lecture ONCE the entire semester, expected us to learn difficult material on our own, very difficult to manage if u r taking other challenging courses, class was just discussion w our equally confused peers. She does answer questions, very condescending... Even as a 4.0 student, I could not deal w her... made me rethink my major....

if you're doing well in this class, it's not because of helquist. she does not teach you and instead has you teach yourself. this is orgo. you will struggle every single day. the syllabus is unhelpful when it comes to the group projects. easily accessible.

Worst professor I have ever had in my entire life. Doesn't know how to do her job and expects everyone already knows the information. Everyone saying she's good is the select few students who dride. She isn't. she's mean. She tells students that if they don't know the information they aren't ready for the question yet instead of helping. horseeeeee

To the people saying just go to her office hours and she's nice. WRONG! I went to almost every office hours and every single time I'd leave wanting to cry. She makes you feel so dumb and gets upset when you don't know something. If you do have her do your best to stay away because it's just traumatizing. You'd be better off going with a tutor.

She is one of the worst professors I've taken. She is extremely rude and condescending. And she is a terrible grader. She is the reason the chem department is so messed up. Save your sanity and take a better professor.

If your not religious before this class, I suggest you pick one and start praying.

0/5 big booms

If Elizabeth Holmes was a chemist and Theranos was the chem department the way she has ran it into the ground at a criminal level

if there was an award for the worst professor she would win. She is incredibly rude, has not once lectured, and makes me question my sanity

Absolutely the worst professor I have ever come in contact with. The grading system SHE created is unfair and impossible. She was the reason I changed my major. I dropped her class halfway through and it was the best decision i have ever made. Do not take her class.

If hydrochloric acid was a person, she's your guy

If you love crying accompanied by questioning your life and sanity, she's the professor for you!

Insane asylums were created because of this woman.

truly one of the worst professors ive EVER had. she is condescending and rude, if you ask a question she tells you to “go ask your group” she grades like a drill sergeant, if you mispell something on a chemistry test she will mark it wrong, if your drawing isnt nearly identical to scale of whats on the paper, wrong, etc.

i genuinely do not have a single good word to say about her. i have done everything in my ability to try and succeed in this course but this grading system is screwing me over. do urself a favor and don't take this course unless u want endless nightmares and anxiety

You'd have better luck contacting the spirit world with an Ouija board than getting a helpful answer from her. If you enjoy confusion, despair, and questioning all your life choices, Professor Doom is the perfect guide on your journey through academic purgatory. HER class made me transfer schools. Good luck.

she genuinely doesn't know how to teach. this class affected my mental health so much. orgo is already hard enough and then with this system in place it makes it impossible to pass. helquist doesn't know what she's teaching and just asks questions back if you ask her questions.

i blame her for everything wrong in my life

Helquist was the worst professor I have EVER had- the Loyola chemistry system is bad enough, and she makes it 100 times worse. I managed through most of the semester, but when my question was responded with "that's not my job to teach you, look it up", I withdrew and looked for new schools to transfer to. If you need to take chem, go somewhere else

The entire Chem department shows how Loyola doesn't want to help you succeed in the medical field. The professor doesn't care about students, has no humanity yet feels ( in her words) she determines who gets to go to med school. Weird complex this lady has and after going through hell in her class I realized she has jealousy for every student.

she must be having her friends write reviews for her on here because thats all a lie. she may be passionate about chem, but she is not on your side. most teachers make you feel like they want you to succeed, not this one. also she was on probation for how many ppl she failed. she's probably a v nice person outside of teaching, but an awful educator

Likely the worst teacher I've ever experienced. She insults students when they ask questions, she rarely ever explains concepts (most of which are not intuitive), and grades as if she wants the majority of the class to fail. She will make your life worse and will likely kill your lifelong dream of practicing medicine.

She genuinely isn't as bad as people say, but it is a difficult course if you don't put in the work. FO and CO system sucks, and she makes it even worse. Be prepared to do a lot of self learning.

I contemplated jumping in front of the CTA and riding the red line at night all the way down to 63rd while taking her.

I went from atheist to devote catholic while taking her class

Absolutely god awful. Will not provide feedback, condescending, mean, does not teach, expects you to know everything, actually the worst person I have ever met. I have had het for 180 and 240 and have almost changed my major several times. She was on probation for so long because she is actually the spawn of satan himself, maybe is satan herself.

Dr. HELLquist was genuinely the most passive aggressive professor I have ever encountered. Witnessing her interact with students would make you think she WANTS her students to fail. She loves to humiliate you whenever you ask the simplest question and she acts like her grading system is the holy grail. Get ready to teach yourself. DO NOT TAKE!!!

ZONT. I can't even emphasize enough that hellquist is the most condescending and unhelpful person i've ever had the displeasure of "learning" from. be prepared to fully teach yourself chem 160 with absolutely no help or feedback while simultaneously being graded as though you are writing equations to send a rocket to the moon with lives at stake.

terrorist.

WORST PROFESSOR EVER! Please don't take her if you don't wanna sacrifice your mental health. She doesn't know how to teach. I had so many crashouts throughout the sem. You'll feel so discouraged after every exam. No matter how much I tried, I never got a good grade, and my GPA went down because of this class. SAVE YOUR GPA AND DON'T TAKE HER!

Worst class I have ever taken. Personally, I think 240 was worse than 180, and I entirely give that credit to the fact that I had Helquist. No lectures like ever, all group work, and she rarely answers questions. Of course, she still uses the CO system, so prepare yourself for that. No professor has ever made me want to drop out the way she has.

She ruined everything. I literally have to transfer school because of her. She ruined my future of becoming a doctor. Please dont take her please take chemistry at another school, dont do it here.

HELLquist.